OLI DAY BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL H S THROUGH DECEMBER 18 entrepreneur RIDE from page 37 HUNDREDS OF ARTI$T- MADE GIFT CREATIONS RenCen's Wintergarden venue if the club could transport everyone there from the Dearborn Hyatt Regency. On short notice, Ron and Linda scrounged up 35 busses to take 1,500 people downtown. "It was a huge operation," said Ron. One of their most challenging but most lucrative events was the 2004 Ryder Cup golf tournament at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township. The Sherrs handled the transportation needs of six corporate clients. "That event went a long way toward paying for our daughter's wedding," noted Ron. A Thriving Business Tax-Free Municipal Bonds Royal Oak Michigan Hospital Revenue • Beaumont Hospital Rated Al/A • Non-AMT YIELD TO MATURITY PRICE 99.50 COUPON RATE 6.00% MATURITY 8/1/39 CALLABLE 8/1/19@100.00 As with any investment, the market value may vary during the period the investment is held. Capital gains are subject to taxation. Subject to prior sale and market conditions. Price as of 12/7/09. Call Todd Weinsier, Sr. Vice Presi.ent A 1-800-741-1103 fMnbonds, Inc. Municipal Bond Specialists Buy bonds online, too: www.FMSbonds.com MEMBER FINRA/SIPC 1557620 West Bloomfield's MOST PRESTIGIOUS CADILLAC TEAM Has A New HoMe At Lafontaine Cadillac New and Certified Pre Owned Cadillacs CONCIERGE SERVICE MaryAnn Audette December 10 • 2009 john Edwards Harvey Hortick 4000 W. Highland Rd. Highland, MI 866-599-5883 With Door To Door Pick Up For Your Convenience 38 Judy Sprader www.thefamilydeal.com iN Although Action Tours is run by a husband and wife, it's not a mom- and-pop operation by any stretch. Ron says that until 2009, their busi- ness averaged some 300 deluxe motor coach excursions a year. Unfortunately, today's slumping economy has hit the convention business hard. Still, he estimates he and Linda have handled about 7,500 coaches over the past 30 years. Engaging a plush, 55-seat, air- conditioned bus with a top-notch driver for several hours can cost a client hundreds of dollars. "It sounds like a lot," said Ron, "but when broken down, the cost per passenger is quite reasonable." The Sherrs have established close ties with the bus companies they contract with. "We're fair, we keep our word and we tip the drivers well," Ron said. "The most experi- enced drivers always want to work for us." Going into business 30 years ago was Linda's brainstorm. Back then, they we're raising their young daughters, Bonnie, Robin and Dawn. Linda ran her own preschool exercise class called Wiggleworm in their house and Ron was at the midpoint of his career as a physi- cal education teacher in the Detroit Public Schools. The Sherrs had the reputation of jumping headfirst into whatever were the newest and most exciting hap- penings in town — and their friends would constantly ask them for tips on where to go and what to do. Linda realized there could be a busi- ness opportunity there, arranging entertaining trips for visiting groups. Although, at first, some of their more staid friends scoffed at their plans for Action Tours, the couple stumbled upon a void to fill as well as a means to boost their home- town's sagging image. "Linda and I had no real back- ground — but we're good organiz- ers, we're not afraid to try things and we're people people," Ron said. Connecting With People The business grew steadily. One idea that proved popular among fel- low Jews was offering guided bus tours of old Jewish Detroit. While gray-haired riders waxed nostalgic about the delis on Dexter and the shuls off 12th Street, young people discovered a whole new "Old World" just off the Lodge Freeway. As Action Tours expanded, the Sherrs hired part-time tour guides. Ron, for his part, thinks of himself as a comedian and uses humor to break the ice with his passengers. He's quick with a quip, but if you listen closely, you might hear groans from his regular bus drivers who endure the same one-liners time after time. Linda is quick on her feet, too. Once she arranged for a client to have a fake policeman fool conven- tioneers by appearing to "arrest" the corporation's top exec during a banquet in Greektown. When the actor she hired didn't show, Linda improvised and convinced a Detroit cop she found on Monroe Street to make his stage debut. The prank and the day were saved. Another time about 20 years ago, Linda and Ron were escorting the New York Yankees old-timers who were in town for a charity exhibi- tion baseball game against their old Tiger rivals. In the hotel, Linda, who has charmed countless out-of- towners over the years, had a very pleasant chat with a very pleasant white-haired man. They commiser- ated about children, schools and how raising a family had changed so much over the years. Later, Linda told Ron of the extended conversation, and he asked who her companion was. Linda said she had no idea, "but everyone was calling him Whitey." If Ron — the former slugging and pitching star on the Metro Detroit softball circuit — could have cor- nered Hall of Fame hurler Whitey Ford for 30 minutes, he would not have wasted time engaging in family chitchat. But, then again, maybe that's why Whitey found Linda so appealing.